Knowledge e-Learning
The Classroom Comes Home
Lifelong learning is a fundamental requirement for survival in the knowledge-based society. Thanks to modern information and communication technology, students and professionals can learn according to their own individual rhythmsat any time or place.
Lets greet Beijing. Good afternoon, Beijing!" A response comes promptly: "Hello, Zurich!" "Can we get Warsaw on the line now? Id better say a good morning here," says Rolf Pfeifer as he checks his watch, which shows that its 9:15 a.m.
Pfeifer, who heads the Institute for Artificial Intelligence at the University of Zurich and is a guest professor at the University of Tokyo, gave lectures of a special kind during this past winter semester. In Zurich, Pfeifer was hooked up to Beijing, Warsaw, Munich and Tokyo via video conference. His presentations in English were projected onto screens in the lecture halls, and the students could ask questions at any time. In fact, anyone could have come to the lectures by clicking www.tokyolectures.org. Those who couldnt attend were able to download a video. Slides, homework assignments, literature and links were also available. The organizers describe their series as "experimental global instruction."
Such live, online lectures are just a preview of the way we will learn in the futurethrough interactive multimedia technology, unconstrained by time and place. Nor do experts believe that this way of transmitting knowledge should be limited to the college campus. Professionals need to use it as well. Todays knowledge workers constantly have to organize, evaluate and select information, and then create new knowledge based on it. In other words, they have to accept the idea of lifelong learning.
Training on computers, the Internet and in virtual classrooms will become key elements of lifelong learning in the future
"To accomplish that, knowledge workers need to have subject-specific and methodological expertise as well as creativity and independent problem-solving skills," says Heinz Mandl, who holds a chair at the Institute for Pedagogic Psychology at the Ludwig Maximilian University in Munich. To prepare people for this change, Mandl proposes a "constructive teaching and learning model" in which students actively acquire knowledge from a problem-focused environment. This means that the tasks assigned to the student must be realistic. "The knowledge that students acquire is no longer lecturer-oriented, but is instead based on their previous knowledge and experiences," Mandl says.
Learning Partner. Tomorrows instructional environment will still feature plenty of books, but will also include computer-based training (CBT), Web-based training (WBT), CD-ROMs and teleteaching through video conferences. Such e-learning possibilities eliminate the need for long trips to training centers, and open the door to anywhere, anytime learning. Neverthless, classic teaching is not about to disappear.
"The future belongs to blended learning, a mixture of on-site instruction and e-learning," Mandl says. The on-site phase offers several benefits. Students can be led by a specialist, have a chance to get to know one another, and can form working groups. These groups also promote teamwork and discussion. During the virtual phase, students can be assisted by telelecturers. This ensures that they always have someone to answer their questions.
Such an approach to learning is also being applied at Siemens Professional Education (SPE), which has created a new training program for German high-school graduates who decide against a college education but want to learn an IT job. During "Siemens Live Learning"whose first modules will begin in the fall of 2004students will receive theoretical and practical training at Siemens learning centers. The companies will introduce the trainees to operations at the job sites and focus on putting new employees to work. During a normal three-year training program, students attend a vocational school for 38 weeks, a period during which they are unable to be on the job. But with SPEs Live Learning approach, the theoretical section has been split up, reducing on-site instruction to 18 weeks. This means that trainees will spend the remaining time at their work-station computers and will follow the trainers instruction on the Web.
Virtual Classrooms. "Our concept employs virtual classrooms. That means that students get their theoretical instruction through the Internet at their own job sites. All they need is a PC and an ISDN connection," says Uwe Regitz, who heads SPEs activities in northern Bavaria. SPE also offers business-administration courses, modules for team training, and presentation and project management techniques. "During the training program, we work to prepare students for management tasks," Regitz says. After completing the training courses and a two-year practice phase, they can earn a bachelors degree during an in-service program.
Communications technology also opens up new opportunities for Siemens employees who are in the middle of their careers and can attend advanced training courses only at great expense. "Take learning during the work process as an example," says Karsten Ehms, a psychologist at the Corporate Technology Center for Knowledge Management & Business Transformation. Here, workers have all of the information they need to complete an assignment right at their work stations. Ehms points to SieMap as an example. This editorially managed portal in the Siemens intranet already contains links to documents, a search function and a glossary. But its potential extends far beyond these services, Ehms says. "You could gradually expand the service and add content from instructorsthings like information on project management or control." The time spent on lessons could range from two minutes to 60 minutes. The decision would be left up to the student. If students feel that two minutes is sufficient, then they can return to work. If not, they can go on to the next learning segment.
he service would be even more user-friendly if a subject could be approached from a variety of perspectives. Possible selection criteria could include business processes, products or organization. Links to CBT and information resource regarding further courses, could be made available as well. However, crucial parts of the picture are still missing. "We still need to answer one major question," says Ehms. "How can we structure information levels, link them and make them transparent?"
Intranet Diaries. Ehms also sees the use of Web logs evolving into another trend. These personal Internet sites contain a list of annotated links or chronological reports about experiences. The contents are input through a simple user interface. Experts are determining how much added value the net diaries would provide Siemens. For example, an employee could write a summary at the end of a project and put it on the intranet as a Web log. If a coworker came across the log during his or her own research, he or she could add a comment to it. If both were online, they could get in touch with each other and exchange more information (see Communities).
Despite all of this technology, the human aspect of things is not being left by the wayside. After all, knowledge employees are expected to organize their own learning and motivate themselves. First of all, though, they have to learn to do so and should not be left alone during the process. Says Ehms: "The ideal approach would be for workers to turn to a learning consultant within the company. The consultant would provide subject-matter support and help them decide which module was most suitable on the basis of their individual requirements."
Evdoxia Tsakiridou